There’s a Huge “If” in Apple’s e-Book Settlement

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U.S.A. v. Apple, the e-book antitrust suit that Apple lost so spectacularly last year, is back in the news.

Apple has struck a deal with the states attorneys general who had demanded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages on behalf of book buyers in the their states. By settling, the two sides avoided a jury trial that was set to begin next month.

But there’s a big “if” in the letter the parties submitted to U.S. District Judge Denise Cote Monday — along with a sealed document that outlined the terms of the deal.

No money will change hands until Apple’s appeals of Judge Cote’s controversial ruling – which it has said it will take to the Supreme Court, if necessary — is exhausted.